#Northvolt

[lemondeabicyclette]

La solution, c'est la décroissance.

[atsvensson]

3 döda på Northvolt verkar ytterst märkligt

I Sverige dör cirka 90 000 personer på ett år. Det innebär en dödlighet på 0,9%. På Northvolt har 3 personer dött på ett halvår. Med 3 500 anställda innebär det en dödlighet på 1,6% per år. I Sverige är flertalet av de döda gamla människor som dör av naturliga orsaker. Men det gäller inte de 3 döda på Northvolt. De tre som arbetade på Norttvolt var inte gamla människor när de dog. Den yngste,…

[enterprisewired]

Northvolt Secures Record $5 Billion in Debt Financing for Expansion and Recycling Facility

Europe’s Leading Battery Manufacturer Readies For Possible Stock Market Listing

In a significant development, Northvolt, the Swedish battery manufacturer, has solidified its status as Europe’s best-funded start-up by securing a groundbreaking $5 billion in debt financing. The funding, acknowledged as the largest green loan in Europe to date, is poised to fuel the expansion of the company’s inaugural gigafactory and the construction of a state-of-the-art recycling facility on the same site. This move highlights the insatiable demand for capital in the region’s burgeoning battery sector and positions Northvolt for potential stock market listing, pending improved market conditions.

Record-Breaking Financing

Northvolt’s recent announcement validates earlier reports from the Financial Times in March, indicating the company’s intent to raise $5 billion in debt. The funds were sourced from a consortium of 23 banks, alongside significant contributions from the European Investment Bank and the Nordic Investment Bank. This financing, which encompasses the refinancing of a $1.6 billion debt package from July 2020, brings the company’s total raised capital to over $13 billion, facilitating its ambitious plan to establish four major factories across Sweden, Germany, and Canada by the decade’s end.

Challenges and Milestones at Northvolt Ett

The financing will play a pivotal role in realizing the full potential of Northvolt Ett, the company’s inaugural gigafactory situated below the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden. Although the company Ett commenced battery production in late 2021, it faced delays and setbacks, impacting overall production. Notably, the Swedish truckmaker Scania, among other customers, has been awaiting deliveries from Northvolt Ett, contributing to the company’s losses, which surged eight-fold to nearly SKr11 billion ($1.1 billion) for the first three quarters of 2023 compared to the previous year.

Focus on Sustainability and Circular Practices

Peter Carlsson, Northvolt’s CEO and co-founder, emphasized the financing as a milestone for the European energy transition. The funds will not only support the gigafactory but also finance the adjacent recycling plant, Revolt Ett. This marks the first instance of a company outside Asia placing a recycling facility next to battery manufacturing. According to Northvolt, recycled battery materials boast a 70% lower carbon footprint than mined minerals, reinforcing the company’s commitment to sustainable and circular business practices.

Environmental Recognition and Future Challenges

Northvolt received a commendable “dark green” rating from Cicero, a Norwegian consultancy assessing the environmental quality of debt offerings. Emma Nehrenheim, Chief Environmental Officer at Northvolt, expressed pride in attracting top-tier financial partners, noting that global capital is increasingly keen on investing in electrification and climate change mitigation. Despite the challenges faced by the company, executives remain optimistic, anticipating that future gigafactories will necessitate their own multibillion-dollar financing packages.

Northvolt received advisory support from BNP Paribas, Allen & Overy, and Mannheimer Swartling, underscoring the strategic collaboration behind this monumental financing endeavor. As Northvolt navigates its expansion and sustainability initiatives, the battery manufacturer is positioned as a trailblazer in Europe’s transition towards greener energy solutions.

Also Read: Pallet Jacks: The Backbone of Efficient Warehousing and Logistics

[energyload]

Baut Volkswagen eine Batteriefabrik in Indonesien?

Möglicherweise plant der Volkswagen-Konzern den Bau einer Batteriefabrik für Elektroautos in Indonesien. Laut lokaler Medien und Aussage des indonesischen Investitionsministeriums möchte Volkswagen rund 4,7 Milliarden Euro in die Fabrik investieren. Man wolle noch dieses Jahr mit dem Bau beginnen. Finanziert werden soll das Vorhaben durch die Volkswagen-Batterietochter PowerCo. Neben der reinen…

[signeficunt]

jag har varit helt känslokall på sistone men detta fick mig att böla som ett småbarn

[dailymanners]

"Swedish battery maker Northvolt has developed a new sodium-ion cell technology and could ramp up production of batteries in the next few years. The demand for critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt and platinum has surged in recent years as electric vehicles (EV) become increasingly popular, prompting car manufacturers and battery makers to look for alternatives. Northvolt’s sodium-ion batteries do not contain lithium, cobalt and platinum, which can pose cost and environmental challenges."

"The researchers have developed a recycling method that allows recovery of 100 per cent of the aluminium and 98 per cent of the lithium in electric car batteries. Swedish researchers say they have developed a new, more efficient way of recycling electric car batteries. The method allows for the recovery of far more valuable metals found in EV batteries. The process does not require the use of expensive or harmful chemicals either, the scientists say. “As the method can be scaled up, we hope it can be used in industry in future years,” says research leader Martina Petranikova"

Not exactly related to good manners, but some good news I heard today that I was too excited about not to share.

There's been quite a few technological breakthroughs recently that could make electric car batteries, and just batteries in general, more environmentally friendly, more ethical, and more sustainable.

[solarpunkbusiness]

North Sweden’s green industry boom

 Northern Sweden’s plentiful supply of cheap hydro and wind renewable electricity, coupled with a supply of raw materials and affordable land prices are prompting a ‘green’ industry boom in Sweden’s far north.

Long home to polluting industries, the Norbotten and Västerbotten regions are at the centre of an eco-boom attracting industries including battery manufacturing, data centres and low carbon steel which Sweden’s government estimates to be worth around US$120bn.

Last month, Swedish steel producer SSAB announced it would be building a 2.5 million tonne capacity fossil-free steel mill in the city, supplied with fossil free sponge iron from the Hybrit plant in nearby Gällivare. In January, steel company H2 Green Steel announced it had secured US$4.4bn in debt financing to build the world’s first large scale green steel plant in Boden, to the northwest of Luleå. And also in January Swedish battery producer Northvolt announced it had raised US$5bn in debt financing to help it expand its gigafactory in Skellefteå in Västerbotten.

And the creation of thousands of new jobs in the region is in turn prompting a need for new homes, shops and roads, which is again increasing demand for low carbon construction equipment.

“We have been following the development in the northern market for many years and see that there is room for a niche player like us,” Eriksson adds. “With the market’s focus on sustainable development, we are well-positioned for expansion northwards. Our focus will be on making electric and hybrid-powered units available from the fleet as needed.”

Source

[abr]

Crisi delle batterie mica solo in Italia - riconversione stab. Stellantis di Termoli fermata (così come un'altra in Germania), ora tocca alla Svezia, si quelli vicini alla Norvegia dove tutti comprano elettrico - perché super-incentivato, coi proventi della rendita petrolifera. Northvolt eran quelli che btw volevano rilevare uno stabilimento abbandonato ex Olivetti a Ivrea ma dopo un po' di giri tra consulenti, ingegneri e pubbliche amministrazioni, se ne sono fuijti (*).

Vuoi sfruttare un mercato palesemente drogato? Basta una flessione degli incentivi più mezzo colpo di tosse cinese e vai fuori. Stessa cosa successa coi pannelli solari: dumping, manco enel riesce a starci dentro con la produzione a Catania. Niente, ha da restà tutto made in chaina.

(*) perché per andare avanti gli toccava svenarsi con la bonifica dell'ex fabbrica prima di poter posare la prima pietra e senza nemmeno poter sapere quanto gli sarebbe costato: in Italia lo decide un ente pubblico regionale ex post se hai pulito abbastanza, fin che non lo dice sei tenuto a continuare; contrariamente ad altrove, nessuna amministrazione può far sconti su questo, altrimenti rischia la galera. Per cui le fabbriche rimangono abbandonate: tanto la tossicità vale solo per gli extracomunitari che ci vanno a dormire. Almeno così credono.

[sztupy]

(and Hungary)

[robbno]

Oh that's interesting. A tech company in Sweden called Northvolt are working on a sort of battery containing salt instead of cobalt or lithium.

British accent: "My cellphone is about to die, darling. Could you pass me the salt."

Bad jokes aside. If this works it's a good thing. Really.

[beardedmrbean]

Swedish researchers say they have developed a new method of recycling batteries from electric vehicles that allows recovery of 100 percent of the aluminum and 98 percent of the lithium.

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have presented the efficient way to recycle metals from spent batteries, and at the same time minimize the loss of valuable raw materials such as nickel, cobalt and manganese.

Furthermore, no expensive or harmful chemicals are required in the process because the researchers use oxalic acid—an organic acid that can be found in the plant kingdom.

“So far, no one has managed to find exactly the right conditions for separating this much lithium using oxalic acid, whilst also removing all the aluminum,” said Léa Rouquette, PhD student in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. “Since all batteries contain aluminum, we need to be able to remove it without losing the other metals.”

In the Chalmers battery recycling lab, Rouquette and research leader Martina Petranikova showed how the new method works—taking the pulverized components in the form of a finely ground black powder and dissolving it in a transparent liquid – oxalic acid.

Rouquette produces both the powder and the liquid in something reminiscent of a kitchen mixer. Although it looks as easy as brewing coffee, the exact procedure is a unique scientific breakthrough. By fine-tuning temperature, concentration and time, the researchers came up with a new recipe for using oxalic acid, an environmentally friendly ingredient that can be found in plants such as rhubarb and spinach.

“We need alternatives to inorganic chemicals. One of the biggest bottlenecks in today’s processes is removing residual materials like aluminum,” says Martina Petranikova, Associate Professor at the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Chalmers. “This is an innovative method that can offer the recycling industry new alternatives and help solve problems that hinder development.”

The aqueous-based recycling method is called hydrometallurgy. In traditional hydrometallurgy, all the metals in an EV battery cell are dissolved in an inorganic acid. Then, you remove the “impurities” such as aluminum and copper. Lastly, you can separately recover valuable metals such as cobalt, nickel, manganese and lithium. Even though the amount of residual aluminum and copper is small, it requires several purification steps and each step in this process can cause lithium loss.

With the new method, the researchers reverse the order and recover the lithium and aluminum first. Thus, they can reduce the waste of valuable metals needed to make new batteries.

The latter part of the process, in which the black mixture is filtered, is also reminiscent of brewing coffee. While aluminum and lithium end up in the liquid, the other metals are left in the “solids”. The next step in the process is to separate aluminum and lithium.

“Since the metals have very different properties, we don’t think it’ll be hard to separate them. Our method is a promising new route for battery recycling – a route that definitely warrants further exploration,” says Rouquette, who published her results in the journal Separation and Purification Technology.

COOL IDEA: Scientists Power Tesla on 9,400-mile Journey With Rolled-up Printed Solar Panels

Petranikova’s research group is involved in various collaborations with companies to develop electric car battery recycling and is a partner in major research and development projects, such as Volvo Cars’ and Northvolt’s Nybat project.

The research was funded by the Swedish Energy Agency, BASE Batteries Sweden, Vinnova.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The Quebec government has unveiled the list of 11 companies whose projects were given the go-ahead for large-scale power connections of 5 megawatts or more, for a total of 956 MW. The announcement was made in a press release Friday evening. Five of the selected projects relate to the battery sector, and two to the bioenergy sector. TES Canada's plan to build a green hydrogen production plant in Shawinigan, announced on Friday, is on the list. Hydro-Québec will also supply 5 MW or more to the future Northvolt plant at its facilities in Saint-Basile-le-Grand and McMasterville. Other industrial projects selected are those of Air Liquide Canada, Ford-Ecopro CAM Canada S.E.C, Nouveau monde Graphite and Volta Energy Solutions Canada.

Continue Reading.

Tagging @politicsofcanada

[energyload]

Plant Northvolt einen Börsengang?

Die schwedische Batteriefirma Northvolt plant möglicherweise einen Börsengang innerhalb der nächsten 12 Monate. Im Februar berichteten Insider, dass Northvolt einen milliardenschweren Börsengang vorbereite. Momentan wähle das Unternehmen Investmentbanken aus, um die Emission vorzubereiten. Bei einer Finanzierungsrunde im Jahr 2021 bewerteten Investoren Northvolt mit 12 Milliarden Dollar. Continue…

[darkmaga-retard]

Chemical Conglomerate BASF Joins Volkswagen, Audi, ThyssenKrupp on the List of Struggling Companies

Lena Petrova, CPA

Sep 20, 2024

The German economy is not getting off the ground. Once the industrial powerhouse of Europe, Germany’s economy has been on a downward spiral since the 2019 health crisis. Just as a recovery was briefly in sight, the EU’s multistep self-sanctioning campaign resulted in Europe’s industrial powerhouse losing access to cost-effective energy resources. As if that wasn’t enough, the EU’s initiative to decouple from its biggest trade partner, China, became the final stroke.

The Kiel Institute explained that the economy of Germany is increasingly facing a crisis that is both cyclical and structural in nature:

“Positive signals in the middle of the year have not been confirmed, which is why we are revising our expectations for this year and the coming year significantly downwards. GDP is likely to fall by 0.1 percent in 2024 (vs. summer forecast +0.2 percent). For 2025, economic growth expectations are down from 1.1 percent to 0.5 percent. The unemployment rate is likely to rise to up to 6.1 percent.”

Due to the fact that Germany is the biggest economy in Europe, other European countries are likely to experience similar negative economic trends. Financial Times recently revealed that Swedish Northvolt, a sub-Arctic battery company, despite raising more capital than any other private group in Europe — more than $15 billion in equity, debt, and government support - is now struggling to secure funds as it is forced to scale down and cut jobs.

[anderslindberg]

Ebba Busch verkar bara skadeglad åt Northvolt

https://www.aftonbladet.se/ledare/a/5ELx4E/krisen-pa-northvolt-verkar-gora-ebba-busch-skadeglad?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr